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Ethnicity

Lewisham is the 15th most ethnically diverse local authority in England, and two out of every five residents are from a black and minority ethnic background. The largest BME groups are Black African and Black Caribbean: Black ethnic groups are estimated to comprise 30% of the total population of Lewisham.

Overall ethnic make-up of Lewisham

The following charts show the estimated ethnic make-up of Lewisham’s population in 2013 according to the GLA’s Round 2011 projections. These use the GLA’s Aggregated Ethnic Group classification, in which mixed White and any Black ethnicity counts as Black Other, and mixed White and any Asian ethnicity counts as Other Asian.

The age profile of the BME groups is younger than that of the White groups.

Age breakdown by broad ethnic group

One in five of the overall population is under 15, but this is doubled in the Bangladeshi group, and more than more than doubled in the Black Other group. The under 15 proportion is lowest in the White and Chinese groups. The proportion in the over-65 group is highest in the White, Black Caribbean, Indian, and Chinese groups.

The following charts show how the expected population of each ethnic group is expected to change from 2013 to 2018.

Ethnicity in schoolchildren

In 2008/09 there were 35,062 pupils enrolled in Lewisham’s 91 schools, 61% of which were from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities (3% not known). This percentage of BME pupils is significantly different from the proportion within the resident population. This could be interpreted as an indication of the future ethnic make-up of Lewisham’s adult population, knowledge that could assist in planning services for both the current population aged under 18 years and future adult service users. However, it must be noted that some areas of the borough have a highly mobile population and some pupils attending Lewisham schools may not reside in the borough. As such, this information cannot be used as the sole basis of predicting future need.